The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4385

"It's nice out here, isn't it, Ves?"

"It is." Ves gradually smiled. "I have enjoyed too few moments like this. Is this what you seek in your life?"

Venerable Stark let out a soft snort. "I wish I could embrace peace, but there is only war in my heart."

Ves frowned at her words.

"We talked about this, Davia. Years have passed since the sandmen have been wiped out by the Big Two. You need to move on. Everyone else has already done a good job at that. The Red Ocean offers a new start to everyone including you. There is no need to hang on to old and forgotten grudges anymore.

"I WILL NEVER FORGET THE DEAD!" Venerable Stark burst out as her force of will briefly pressed upon the lake environment!

Ves almost recoiled from her and quickly raised his palm. "Calm down, please! You don't need to raise your voice!"

"My apologies." She spoke as she quickly reined in her fury. "From the moment my people died en masse, I have given up on living a normal life. Not a day goes by where I wish death and suffering on those that have callously allowed my former friends and many other innocents to get slaughtered by the sandmen without lifting a finger."

Her words still remained acrid despite lowering her voice. The pure resentment in her words remained just as intense as in the past!

This told Ves that Venerable Stark had not really experienced any change of heart on this matter.

"The Larkinsons never forget the dead. Isn't that supposed to be the case?"

Venerable Stark referenced one of General Verle's previous funeral addresses with her words, which made it impossible for Ves to refute the statement.

"Uhm, yes." He said. "Those words express a determination to never forget the contributions our fallen have made to further the survival and growing prosperity of our clan. The meaning they convey is that we, the surviving Larkinsons, should not shy away from doing our duty when our fellow clansmen are backed into a corner. General Verle encourages our mech pilots to focus on protecting those who are still alive. It is not our intention to encourage the mindless pursuit of vengeance. We prefer to spend our lives productively rather than pursue a road that only goes downhill."

If Venerable Stark understood his underlying meaning, she showed no indication of agreeing with him. She instead opted to adjust her fishing pole as if that would help with catching a fish.

Ves quietly sighed.

Of all of the expert pilots in the Larkinson Clan, Venerable Stark was certainly the one that was most out of place.

This was an undesirable situation because the Larkinsons had to rely on a guest pilot to supply a large chunk of firepower at the expert mech level.

Ves always held out hope that the Larkinson Clan would eventually succeed in assimilating Venerable Stark in its ranks.

Unfortunately, the guest pilot remained as unmoved as ever. She remained as dead as a rock towards any friendly entreaties from the clan.

The Larkinsons that had been tasked with warming Venerable Stark's heart all returned in failure.

The clan eventually figured out that active persuasion was useless at best and counterproductive at worst.

In order to avoid annoying Venerable Stark too much, the clan stopped disturbing her and left her to her own devices.

Whether this was the right decision or not, Ves found it difficult to accept that such a powerful expert pilot with excellent growth potential would slip out of his grasp almost a century later.

Ves had taken the time to study Venerable Stark's record and documentation during the shuttle ride to the Wild Torch.

Her strong conviction, her constant dedication and her excellent cooperation with her masterwork expert mech enabled her to grow just as fast as Venerable Jannzi.

After she consolidated her gains from the Battle of Pima Prime, her resonance strength measured at 38 laveres on average according to the logs of her most recent live practice session.

The best Larkinson expert pilots still struggled to reach half this number, which meant that Venerable Stark was still on track to become the first high-tier expert pilot among her peers!

There was also an excellent chance that she would take another step and become the first ace pilot that was at the Larkinson Clan's disposal!

This turned her into an indispensable asset to the Larkinsons. Even if she promised to stay in the clan for a single century, it was better to enjoy the protection of an ace pilot for a couple of decades than to have nothing at all. Ves could not afford to compromise the safety of his clan by adopting a harder attitude towards her obstinacy.

It all came down to leverage. Ves needed Venerable Stark's combat power more than she needed his mechs.

She was perfectly capable of leaving the clan and hiring herself out to another employer if it came down to it. The main reason why she continued to stay was because she still believed that sticking with the Larkinsons offered her the fastest way to grow stronger.

She was right about that. Ves could at least count on her to abide by her promise. He only needed her to watch over the clan long enough to eventually replace her with its own cohort of Saints.

"So why did you visit me this time?" Venerable Stark asked as she finally broke the silence. "If you wanted to talk to me, you could have contacted me over the comm."

Ves nodded. "I wanted to talk to you about a new technological development that I want to apply to your expert mech. Let me share the details."

He spent a bit of time on giving her a simplified explanation on blessed equipment and what it might mean for her Amaranto.

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